Topic: HELP!! Lavender ashtray 4 faces each a different race! Marked R.Lalique..but not

[lisatamar]

Please help if you can!! My Father won this piece at an auction 37 years ago. It is etched in the bottom R.Lalique....I emailed Lalique and they claim it is not one of their pieces.
If you would like I could email you more pictures. My Father is very upset as it was my Mother's favorite piece...and after her passing he is told it is not Lalique.
Please help if you can!!!!!

[Greg.]

Hi and welcome.

Nice item, I'm sure someone will be able to help you with this one. Could you also add a picture of the base and signature when you have a moment, which should help in terms of an attribution.

Many thanks
Greg

[Anne]

Hi and welcome to the board. We could do with larger pictures please. If you're having problems resizing them feel free to email me copies and I'll do it for you and add them to your post above. You can email me by clicking the wee envelope below my name on the left.

[lisatamar]

I tried to photograph and scan the signature, but it really does not come out well at all. It seams to be etched in script into the base.
Here is another view!!
Thanks For the help!

[Anne]

All added for you Lisa. If you can get a shot of the mark that would be helpful.  It's not easy to get the camera to focus on frosted glass though, it seems to give them the heebiejeebies!

You could compare your signature to those here (which are legit):
http://rlalique.com/rene-lalique-signatures-r-lalique-signatures.php

And that site also has a page about fake Lalique items:
http://rlalique.com/rlalique-articles-of-interest/AuctionLawAndEthics6.html
and one on Copies and Lookalikes here:
http://rlalique.com/Sections/Fakes/CopiesCloseCalls.html

[ahremck]

Lisa my first impression is that this may be a design by Desna or one of their predecessors.  The glass looks to be neodymium - in daylight or the old-fashioned globe light it will be the nice purple shown, under fluorescent lights it changes to pale blue or sometimes pale green.  Unfortunately there are always the unscrupulous who will try to "improve" the provenance and in glass a copied signature seems to be a relatively common "improvement".  That said, the signature may be genuine and the historian inaccurate.

Ross

[Mosquito]

I agree with Ross. The piece is almost certainly Czech in origin. I don't recognise the design, but I'd suggest Halama. I wouldn't rule out Schlevogt or Hoffmann either. As Ross mentioned, models from these makers have remained in production for decades and more recently have been sold under the Desna brand. You might try looking through the Desna website to see if you can find it.

By the way, don't worry about it not being Lalique. Czech glass is every bit as good, it just lacks the snob value!

[KevinH]

Hi Lisa,

If the signature is etched in script then try one of our favorite tricks ... dust the signature area with talcum powder then gently wipe over the main surface, leaving a white version of the signature. This will also help the camera to auto focus on the detail.

[Mosquito]

Personally I don't believe it's necessary for you to go to the trouble of photographing the mark. As Lalique have confirmed, this is not one of their products. René Lalique's output is very well documented so it's easy to confirm whether or not an item is genuine; sadly, yours is not (though it is an interesting piece in its own right). A spate of similar spuriously marked Czech pieces came onto the market several years ago. Many still turn up on ebay, etc.

[Mosquito]

There's a similar ashtray with four faces shown on the Schubert crystal site. They attribute the design to Heinrich Hoffmann.

See here: http://www.schubert-crystal.com/en/historicka-sbirka/heinrich-hoffmann-24/ (scroll down to see an example in malachite glass)

& here: http://www.schubert-crystal.com/en/ashtray-human-races/348/